Summer 2009, part deux

Michael and I took a little trip for our 18th wedding anniversary. Yay for Grandpa who lives close enough to stay with the kids! We took an exciting little trip down the White Salmon River, including this 14 foot waterfall. We were the only boat that didn't lose anybody over the falls!



We also took a beautiful hike up to the top of Multnomah Falls. Gorgeous! But very crowded. We were glad we started early because it was super crowded on the way down.





I spent a great weekend in Seattle with my sisters. They have been going on little Sisters' Weekends for the past few years, but I have never been able to join them. It was a pretty laid back weekend, but lots and lots and LOTS of walking! We stayed right downtown in the tiniest little apartment and we were just blocks from Pike's Market. Very cool!



We took a fabulous food tour with Savor Seattle. Excellent guide! Really great tour! All three of us love it. We did the Off the Beaten Path tour. A little taste of Spanish cuisine, some very interesting African food, Bavarian meats, Scandinavian pastry, amazing varieties of popcorn and the very yummy Vietnamese food pictured above. If you're ever visiting Seattle, I highly recommend it!








Although my kids started school in August, Labor Day is the sentimental end of summer. Walla Walla had their Frontier Days fair that weekend, with the big downtown parade, of course. Wa-Hi's band marched in the parade and McKelle was front and center. She was first chair flute all last year, but she has moved up to the higher band, so we'll see if she might need to put in a little more practice time this year. She's the flute right in the front of the second row from the left.



Mason and Max joined Mommy to watch the parade. Dad came over after a morning at the hospital. It was a really, really long parade! The boys did enjoy rootbeer icees from the Farmers Market and got a few pieces of candy from parade participants, but we finally left after a couple of hours in the sun. You can only enjoy so many rodeo queens on horses!



McKelle and Matthew started Cross Country, even before school started. This is Matt's first foray into high school sports and he seems to be doing pretty well. McKelle's track coaches from spring season convinced her to drop soccer and go out for cross country. Since she made the Varsity squad at the meet on Saturday, it was probably a good choice for her. I, however, will miss the excitement of her soccer games. CC is hard to watch since they're off running...well, cross country...and the fans really only see the beginning and end of races.


Enjoying the summer weather on a swing! Mason's favorite.


This boy! What a kid.
We were standing at the bus stop the first day of school, waiting for Max. Mason got bored (the bus was very, very late) and started doing some kung foo moves with a stick. He started pounding it on the ground and shouted "this stick will kill everybody in the whole, wide world except me. Bye, Mom."
The funniest part was that he just said it so matter-of-factly. Just total deadpan. The kid cracks me up. Drives me crazy, definitely, but absolutely keeps us all in stitches.

Hope you enjoyed your summer! We definitely did.